Heartful Reunion
by Maurice A. Nigma
Summary: Sheena recalls the time of reuniting with the one friend that she thought she would never see again. NOTE: A retelling of a scene in the game. Has Sheloyd in the end.


**Disclaimer: **The characters of Tales of Symphonia are the Property of NAMCO Bandai. The only thing that I do own around here is this story...well, more or less.

This story is a collab project that is brought up by **SKYWOLF666**. Some credit should go to her seeing that it was her that actually inspired me to do this. Hope that you all would do so on her gallery when you get the chance. Anyway I hope that you all enjoy it! Thank you!

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**Heartfelt Reunion**

It is a full moon tonight and Sheena was staring at the beautiful night sky as its rays were being reflected by the huge pond. Despite the beautiful scenery before her, it did not help ease the sadness that is now dwelling in her heart. Her attention too focused on her own thoughts as well as the golden bell in her hands as it shined at the moon's light while letting out a gentle jingle.

"Seems like yesterday since I saw you again on that day, Corrine. Verius..."

_It was right as they passed by the Temple of Martel in Sylvarant when she had sensed the faint but yet familiar presence of her long time friend, Corrine. A few of their group accompanied her to the temple while others tended to some sort of different business. As they all ventured deeper into the old temple, the female ninja sensed the presence of her thought-to-be-dead friend grow stronger by the minute. She could hear some words of doubt from her accompanying comrades, but right now she wanted to prove that what she felt was real._

_When they have all reached the deepest portion of the temple, all they had found before them was an empty alter. At that moment, Sheena felt herself riddled with sorrow as well as disappointment of her discovery. Colette, being the optimistic person that she was, tried to remain positive about the situation while speaking for the ninja's behalf. Both of the Sage siblings seemed to disagree with the blond as they voiced their own unsure opinions on the situation. For Lloyd, he seemed to be too confused to give a response. Not that she could blame the guy, considering that she was about as clueless and confused about the situation as he was._

_Right as she was about to dismiss her feeling as something from her own heart's sadness, Corrine's bell began to jingle higher than ever before. As its ring echoed throughout the area, the trinket floated from her hands and right to the altar. A bright light enveloped the area, and in the midst of it, a figure began to form on the platform. When the light dissipated, Sheena could have sworn that she was hallucinating, staring at a creature that was unlike anything she had ever seen._

_The new arrival looked like a giant fox with golden beautiful fur all over its body. Its four hind legs and tail tips seemed to be colored in blue while the many tails in question were more colored and varied. The creature was regal and slim in comparison to most monsters that she had seen in their travels. However, the thing about the entity before her was that it was almost identical to the one friend that had been with her since becoming a summoner._

_"Corrine! Corrine, is that you?" Sheena spoke with a small fragment of hope embedded in her voice._

_Then the creature in question spoke in a gentle tone that sounded female as its voice echoed throughout the room, "Sheena, descendant of those who control the powers of summoning. You, who showed me the human heart..."_

_Sheena seemed confused at the words, and she hesitantly said, "You're...not Corrine?"_

_"Desire, generosity, laughter, sadness, anger, violence, concern, love, hate..."_

_"What the hell is it saying?" Lloyd asked, clearly confused with the creature's speech._

_"What will I ultimately gain from the human heart?" The creature asked whilst eying the group carefully. "I, Verius, pose this question upon you. Now, show me."_

_Sheena was surprised by the creature's declaration, and on instinct she along with the others prepared themselves. She heard Lloyd shout, "Here it comes!"_

_Time seemed to pass by as she and her group waited for the new Summon Spirit to do anything. After a tense moment passed, the creature spoke again, its gentle female tone never wavering,__"I have felt your hearts. Anxiety, regret, impatience, loneliness...but even greater hope, courage, and love..."_

_Those words shocked the female ninja as well as probably everyone else in the group. She heard Lloyd ask from somewhere behind her, in a voice as confused as she felt, "...We're not going to fight?"_

_"I exist to observe all beings that possess a heart. I form no Pacts. I will be bound to no one." Verius answered in a blunt, yet polite manner._

_The female summoner was confused by this statement as she stared at the creature and spoke with a bit of confusion and hope in her voice, "You said your name was Verius...who are you?"_

_The new Summon Spirit spoke as it gave a gentle smile on its face,__"Sheena. I am the one who was once known as Corrine. The Summon Spirit that's had the longest contact with the human heart."_

_"Contact with the human heart..." Sheena muttered to herself, wondering about the creature's words. _

_"When my strength was fading, human hearts held onto me. All human emotion both negative and positive, changed me into the Summon Spirit of Heart, Verius."_

_At those words, Sheena hope brightened up a bit more right when Lloyd voiced a question that was on her mind,__"So you're Corrine! Right?"_

_"Yes. Yes, you can say that. I am Corrine." Verius answered as its gentle tone seemed to contain a bit of laughter. Almost as if Lloyd's enthusiasm had been amusing._

_The female ninja never have felt so happy in her life right as she spoke, "We can be together again, right? You'll come with me, right? Corrine..."_

_Verius cut off Sheena's voice as it responded again with a somewhat sad and sympathetic tone, "No. I shall become part of the world and watch over all those that possess hearts."_

_Sheena felt her heart deflate at words coming from her long time best friend, "No..."_

_She did not have time to feel sad for long, for Verius spoke again to her,__"Sheena, descendant of summoners, I cannot go with you. However, my heart will be with you. For my existence as the Summon Spirit of Heart was established by touching your hearts."_

_The ninja felt touched, in a way she had never experienced before. She repeated the soft words of Verius, willing them to become truth,__"Our hearts...will be together..."_

_"Yes, they will as long as you...as long as people have hearts." The Spirit spoke as it started to fade away.__"I shall be with all people...And I shall continue to walk with you, Sheena."_

_"As long as we have hearts?" Sheena muttered as she placed a hand over her own heart as Corrine, now Verius, disappeared from sight right before his last words._

_"Never forget. Your promise with me is your heart."_

Sheena clutched the precious bell tighter in her hands as tears began to trickle down her cheeks. The female ninja was so focused on Corrine's bell that she failed to notice anything around her before a voice spoke, "Hey, Sheena, are you alright? It's getting really late and you should be getting to sleep real soon."

The young female immediately tried to wipe away her tears while seeing Lloyd walking towards her. "I-I'm alright, L-Lloyd. J-Just feeling a b-bit down is all," She responds with a sniffle while trying her best to sound like everything was perfectly fine.

The dark haired ninja could tell that the twin swordsman did not believe in her words. Especially when he spoke gently, "Sheena, you don't have to pretend with me, you know. You were thinking about what happened a few days ago, weren't you?"

Sheena knew that Lloyd's words were more like a statement than a question. In most cases, she would have just waved it off as nothing in order to keep up the facade of her tough exterior. However, this time she just could not keep her composure together as her tears seem to flow out of her eyes when she spoke.

"L-Lloyd, it's j-just not fair! I-I mean, I-I've just barely g-got to see C-Corrine again after I-I thought th-that he was g-gone! B-But still I-I...!"

The female ninja could not speak anymore, and tears continued to flow down her cheeks. She tried to pull herself together but failed miserably to contain the moisture flowing from her eyes. It was then that she felt two strong arms wrapping themselves around her in a hug. She breathed sharply as Lloyd patted her back in comfort. The summoner could not help but weep into the embrace and she wrapped her own arms around Lloyd right as she covered her tearful face.

"Shh. It's alright, Sheena. Just let it all out." Sheena took this moment to rest her head on her friend's shoulder and cry properly as the brunette male spoke again. "Listen Sheena, I know that you still feel like that it's your fault Corrine was struck by Volt, but you can't keep blaming yourself for what's happened. Just look back at what you've done for him. You were able to help him by being his friend. Not only that but he was able to come back to life as the Summon Spirit of Heart. And don't forget, Sheena that you have a pact with him that could never be broken by anyone."

At those words, Sheena stopped her weeping long enough to look the swordsman straight in the eyes. From what she could see in his reddish brown irises, the young female ninja could tell that her friend is telling the truth. She gave Lloyd a happy smile, despite having tears still running down her flushed cheeks. It was good that no one, the red haired Chosen especially, were there to see this intimate moment between herself and the normally oblivious swordsman.

If she had been paying more attention to her own surroundings, the female ninja would have noticed a familiar silhouette of a certain nine-tailed fox staring at the scene with a smile on its face.

**FIN****A/N:** Sorry for taking so long with updating everyone. It's just that the source of my procrastination is actually the fact that I worked too hard with making things too perfect in a fic. This idea here is SKY's idea that actually got me off my butt...not to mention that it's supposed to be a Valentine fic which got too late. However, as someone says, "better late than never." Well, I hope that you all enjoy this fic and give me really honest reviews for when you all read it. Thank you.

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Maurice A. Nigma


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